In Ankara, Tillerson urges Turkey to take joint steps with US in Syria

In a press conference with his Turkish counterpart, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the two countries “have good mechanisms” on how to solve the Syrian crisis. Turkey’s foreign minister stressed that Kurds must first leave the northern-Syrian city of Manjib.

Rex Tillerson Photo credit: Flickr

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called on Turkey to avoid actions in Syria that would escalate tension in the region.

During a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Friday, Tillerson said the US and Turkey must act together in Syria, to which Çavuşoğlu replied that Kurdish forces must first leave Syria’s northern city of Manbij in order for joint US-Turkish steps to be taken.

Tillerson also met with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president. The meeting was unusual for having taken place without an American translator, aides or note-takers. Instead, Çavuşoğlu served as a translator. A State Department official told CNN that Tillerson had “met before with President Erdoğan, and he’s okay with the foreign minister doing the translation. They have a good, strong working relationship